Big birthday for Penholder

PENHOLD - The venerable “Penholder” has hit an exclusive and celebrated milestone.

The old Penhold hotel and tavern turned 75 this month, and the historic moment did not go unnoticed by the town.

Penhold mayor Dennis Cooper presented Penholder owners Robert and Kim Kim with a special commemorative plaque on Oct. 15 to mark the milestone.

“For many years the Penholder has been a gathering place for many people,” said Cooper. “It's got a special spot in my heart.”

He noted the entertainment in the tavern it provided over the years, as well as the former hotel section upstairs and the treasured memories he has of the pub.

“We've had a number of different events here, outside in the parking lot or inside. “It's not just a place to go to have a drink anymore, it's a place you can come and meet your friends and help build community. That's what the Penholder means to us today,” he added. “The new owners have reached out to the community and have helped us with concerts and a number of different fundraising events.”

The Kims, who have run the Penholder for the past three and a half years, are believed to be the seventh owners and operators of the Penholder, first built as the Penhold Hotel in 1939 and finishing by late 1940.

“We are very grateful to be recognized,” said Kim Kim of the 75th anniversary plaque. “We are grateful for the local people who help support us.”

She noted their active role in the community, helping raise funds for events and those in need.

“We work with local volunteers, with the fire department for their annual firefighter auction, and when the apartment building burned down (in 2014) we raised $6,800 for the people (who lived there),” she said. “We believe in helping the locals.”

The Penholder is one of several historical pieces of the town that continues to share its vibrant and interesting history with Penholders today, said retired businessman Steward Ford.

Ford grew up across the street from the Penhold Hotel and remembers its early beginnings.

The restaurant portion first opened in 1939, he noted, adding the hotel, which had nine bedrooms, a coffee shop and a beer parlour, soon followed it.

The Penhold Hotel was fully operational by 1941.

“Penhold voted ‘wet' and then the hotel got going,” said Ford, noting the town's vote after Prohibition ended. “In order to get a liquor establishment in your community there was a local vote. Penhold went ‘wet' and the hotel proceeded very quickly.”

Since it was first built there have been renovations and additions to the Penhold Hotel over the years, as well as several owners since it opened in 1941. Today, the hotel portion is no longer in use, noted Ford.

“Earlier on we had five (grain) elevators in Penhold. We had the rural people coming in and that was the local watering hole,” he said, noting the role it played in the community for farmers, visitors and town citizens.

“The hotel was serving the community of business people and drawing traffic, but the hotel was also being supported by the fact that there was traffic coming in to deliver grain and buy building supplies and other items.”

The opening of the Penhold Hotel in 1941, as well as the restaurant portion just prior in 1939, was well timed, noted Ford, pointing to the end of the Great Depression and the start of the Second World War.

“The hotel was ideally situated,” he said. “There was an airbase two miles north of it. We were training British airmen so it was the best possible time to open.”

Ford also pointed out some of the interesting times for local pubs back in the day.

“At that time in Alberta the drinking area or the bar, was (for) men and the other section was (for) ladies and escorts,” explained Ford, noting separate entrances for the two groups. “The other door, which still exists, was the one at the very north end on the side wall and that was the restaurant.”

The current owners of the Penholder, noted Ford, have focused on continuing the local tavern and its history today.

“It's a place you can go to (with friends) and it's well run,” said Ford. “They've really done a fine job of doing that.”